1. How do Individual Values (IV) work?
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Three statistics define a Pokémon: the attack statistic defines the damage your Pokémon will do,
the defence statistic defines the speed at which your Pokémon will die, the HP is your Pokémon’s
Hit Points.
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We consider the example of Mewtwo. Mewtwo’s base statistics are:
Mewtwo
Base_ATK
300
Base_DEF
182
Base_HP
214
Assume you are very lucky, and you caught a perfect Mewtwo, with (ATK_IV, DEF_IV, HP_IV)
= (15, 15, 15). Your perfect Mewtwo’s stats are:
ATK = (Base_ATK + ATK_IV)
315
DEF = (Base_DEF + DEF_IV)
197
HP = (Base_HP + HP_IV)
229
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Depending on the level of your Pokémon, you will multiply all these stats by a coefficient:
Level 20 Level 25 Level 30 Level 35 Level 40
0.5974 0.667934 0.7317 0.76156384 0.7903
This table says that at level 25, your Pokemon is at 84.5% of its capacity; at level 30, your
Pokemon is at 92.6% of its capacity; at level 35, your Pokemon is at 96.4% of its capacity.
Coming back to your perfect Mewtwo, if you level up it to level 40, its statistics are finally:
ATK at level 40
248
DEF at level 40
155
HP at level 40
180
Your friend caught a Mewtwo with (ATK_IV, DEF_IV, HP_IV) = (14, 15, 14). If we do the
same calculations as previous, its Mewtwo, at level 40, will have the following statistics:
ATK at level 40
248
DEF at level 40
155
HP at level 40
180
Surprisingly, Mewtwo (14, 15, 14) at level 40 and (15, 15, 15) at level 40 both have exactly the
same statistics!
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The Combat Power (CP) formula is:
CP = floor
ATK×
√
DEF×HP
10
× coeff_level
2
▶
For Mewtwo (15, 15, 15), at level 40, its CP is floor
315×
√
197×229
10
× 0.7903
2
= 4178
▶
For Mewtwo (14, 15, 14), at level 40, its CP is floor
314×
√
197×228
10
× 0.7903
2
= 4156
2. How to measure the bulkiness of a Pokémon?
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We use the effective health (EH) defined by : EH ∝ DEF × HP. The higher the score is, the
bulkier the Pokémon is. For instance:
Tangrowth Exeggutor (A)
Base_ATK
207
230
Base_DEF
184
153
Base_HP
225
216
Tangrowth’s base Effective Health is 184×225 = 41400, whereas Exeggutor (A)’s base Effective
Health is 153×216 = 33048.
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However, it is also interesting to consider resistances when it comes to compare Pokémon.
Double vulnerability ×0.39
Vulnerability ×0.63
Normal ×1
Simple Resistance ×1.6
Double Resistance ×2.56
If we use these two Pokémon versus Kyogre (Waterfall + Hydro Pump),
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Tangrowth’s base Effective Health is 41400×1.6 = 66240
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Exeggutor (A)’s base Effective Health is 33048×2.56 = 84602.88
Therefore, Exeggutor (A) will be more resistant versus Kyogre (Hydro Pump) than Tangrowth.
3. How to compute the damage realised by a Pokémon?
The damage a Pokémon will do to its opponent is given by:
Damage formula = floor
1
2
Power ×
ATT
OPP_DEF
× Multiplier
+ 1
To illustrate this formula we consider an Exeggutor (A) perfect at level 30 launching Solar Beam to a
Kyogre at level 40.
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floor () + 1 guarantees that the minimum damage of any attack is 1.
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Power is the power of the considered move, for Solar Beam, it is 180.
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ATT is the giver’s attack statistic. For instance, for Exeggutor (A) at level 30 with 15 as
IV_ATK, it would be (230+15)×0.7317 = 179.
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OPP_DEF is the opp onent’s defense statistic. For instance, for Kyogre at level 40 with 15 as
IV_DEF, it would be (228+15)×0.7903 = 192.
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Multipliers could be STAB, WAB, FAB and Effectiveness.
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STAB is an acronym for Same Type Attack Bonus. If a Pokemon uses a move that matches one
of its types, then the attack damage gets a ×1.2 multiplier.
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WAB is an acronym for Weather Attack Bonus. If a Pokemon uses a move that matches one of
the boosted types in the current weather, then the attack gets a ×1.2 multiplier, same as that of
STAB.
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FAB is an acronym for Friendship Attack Bonus. Friend bonuses are 3%, 5%, 7% or 10%
depending on your level of friendship.
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Effectiveness refers to the multiplier applied to using a "super effective" or "not very effective"
move.
Not very effective (at all!) ×0.39
Not very effective ×0.63
Normal ×1
Super effective ×1.6
(Super!) super effective ×2.56
Under no weather boost, no friendship bonus, the damage Exeggutor will do to Kyogre are:
Damage formula = floor
1
2
Power ×
ATT
OPP_DEF
× Multiplier
+ 1
= floor
1
2
180 ×
179
192
× 1.2 × 1.6
+ 1
= 161 + 1 = 162HP
4. Which moves to choose for a Pokemon?
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Each Pokemon has a fast move and a charged move. Both together define the damage the
Pokémon will realise.
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Each move is defined by the damage it realises, its duration and the energy it generates (for fast
moves) or uses (for charged moves).
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Charged move energies are defined by the number of bars:
energy of 33.33 energy of 50 energy of 100
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The goal is then to choose the best moves that realise the most damage per second. We
consider the example of Metagross: is Meteor Mash or Flash Cannon more interesting? From
https://pokemon.gameinfo.io, we get the following table:
Meteor Mash Flash Cannon
Base damage 100 100
Move duration 2600 ms 2700 ms
Damage window 2300 - 2500 ms 1600 - 2500 ms
Energy -50 -100
DPS 38.5 37
EPS -19.2 -37
DPS is the damage p er second for this move (= Base damage/Move duration), whereas EPS is
the energy used p er second (= Base damage/Energy).
Both attacks realise 100 as base damage, and have similar Move duration. However Meteor Mash
needs less energy than Flash Cannon; a player will launch two Meteor Mash for one Flash
Cannon, and realise twice more damage in the same time. This is reflected in the EPS.
Therefore, Meteor Mash is much more interesting than Flash Cannon.
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We usually compute the global and neutral DPS for each couple (fast, charge) to see the number
of damage per second the Pokémon realises by combining its fast and charged moves.
Computation is complex, as it needs to consider also the damage realised by the opponent which
brings energy to the giver. The DPS must also consider "Same Type Attack Bonus" (STAB, 25%
damage boost of a move when it is the same type as one of the types of the Pokémon using the
move).
How DPS is computed? Comprehensive DPS/TDO spreadsheet
For Metagross, DPS of (Bullet Punch, Meteor Mash) is much higher than DPS of (Bullet Punch,
Flash Cannon):
Pokemon Fast Move Charged Move DPS TDO DPS
3
× TDO CP
Metagross Bullet Punch Meteor Mash 17.983 621.7 3615.5 3791
Metagross Bullet Punch Flash Cannon 13.563 468.9 1 169.7 3791
5. Which Pokemon to choose for levelling up?
They must be chosen based on their:
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Damage Per Second (DPS) defined by their fast and charged move: it represents how much
damage a Pokémon can make in a second.
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Effective Health (EH) is computed via the formula (at level 40):
EH = (base DEF + DEF_IV)× (base HP + HP_IV) ×
0.7903
2
900
▶
Total Damage Output (TDO) represents how much damage a Pokémon can make before it
faints. It is computed via TDO = DPS × EH
▶
DPS
3
× TDO, a mathematical measure without any physical sense, that can help to order
Pokémon.
Comprehensive DPS/TDO spreadsheet
For instance, if we compare the two best Ghost-type Pokémon:
Pokemon Fast Move Charged Move DPS TDO DPS
3
× TDO CP
Gengar Lick Shadow Ball 18.109 350.4 2080.9 2878
Giratina (Origin) Shadow Claw Shadow Ball 15.814 662.8 2621.4 3683
Gengar has a monstrous DPS, but low TDO, whereas Giratina (O) has excellent EH and TDO. The
global measure DPS
3
× TDO recommends Giratina (O).
Note also that weaknesses are not taken in this spreadsheet, as we compute the neutral DPS. If we
choose "Mewtwo" with (Confusion, Psychic) as opponent, the spreadsheet becomes:
Pokemon
Fast Move Charged Move DPS TDO DPS
3
×
TDO CP
Gengar Lick Shadow Ball 27.547 194.4 4063.3 2878
Giratina (Origin) Shadow Claw Shadow Ball 26.415 641.9 11829.9 3683
DPS has increased by ≈ 1.6 (as Mewtwo is weak to Ghost attacks), but Gengar’s TDO has also
decreased (due to Mewtwo’s statistics and moves, and Gengar’s psychic weakness) at the same time,
making it not viable.
6. How difficult are Raid bosses?
Raid boss have the attack and defend statistics of a perfect level 40 Pokémon, but their HP depends on
the difficulty of the raid:
Difficulty HP Time
600 HP 180s
1,800 HP 180s
3,600 HP 180s
9,000 HP 180s
(Legendary) 15,000 HP 300s
(Mewtwo) 22,500 HP 300s
For example, Kyogre’s base statistics are:
Kyogre
Base_ATK
270
Base_DEF
228
Base_HP
205
As a raid b oss, they will be:
Kyogre
ATT
225
DEF
192
HP 15,000 HP
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damage realised by the raid boss are identical to a Pokémon level 40 with ATK_IV = 15.
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For a 5-head boss, you must realise 15000/300 = 50 HP per second; same damage to realise per
second for a 4-head boss. The main difficulty of a 5-head boss is that it has more HP, and
therefore you will need more time, more Pokémon and more revives.
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Difficulty of a raid boss will mainly depends on the boss defence statistic (the higher is defense
is, the more time you will need to defeat it).
For the minimal number of players with the best counters at level 30, with "best friends" boost,
and extreme weather,
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If boss raid has only simple weakness, the minimal number of players is flo or(Base
DEF/80)+1.
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If boss raid has a double weakness, the minimal number of players is floor(Base DEF/108)+1.
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You need to play on resistance of your Pokémon, if you want to use less potion to defeat it
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You need to play on the boss vulnerability, if you want to defeat it faster.
7. How are IV important? What is the optimal level for a Pokémon?
Regarding IVs, they depend on the Pokémon base statistics.
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If the Pokémon has an important base attack statistic, there will be no difference between
ATK_IV = 14 and ATK_IV = 15.
It is recommended to that a high ATK_IV for Pokémon with low DPS.
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Regarding to bulkiness (DEF_IV and HP_IV), the defence statistic influences how fast your
Pokémon will die, whereas the HP statistic tells you the total number of HP your Pokémon will
have. Usually, it is more interesting to have a higher DEF_IV than HP_IV.
It is recommended to that a high DEF_IV and HP_IV for Pokémon with low Effective Health.
The more you want to level up your Pokémon, the more expansive it will be. Level 35 is fine (where
your Pokémon is at 96.4% of its capacity), but level 30 is good too (92.6% of its capacity).
Level 20
28
−−−−→
31,000
Level 25
38
−−−−→
44,000
Level 30
64
−−−−→
62,000
Level 35
118
−−−−→
88,000
Level 40
There is an ideal level depending on each Pokémon and its opponent:
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above a certain level, it will not be more resistant (its oponent will be able to inflige a certain
number of fast and charged attacks until your Pokémon dies). It is called the bulkpoint.
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above a certain level (usually different from the bulkpoint), your Pokémon fast attack will do
exactly the same damage (it’s due to the floor in the damage formula). It is called the breakpoint.
For levelling up a Pokémon after level 35, if base stat ≈ 125, the difference between an IV 15 and an
IV 14 is one level. If base stat ≈ 265, the difference between an IV 15 and an IV 14 is one half-level.
